CHAPTER 4

Vivian’s POV

“What... what do you mean my admission was terminated five years ago?” I asked. My voice was shaking.

When they told me to leave school and take care of Ashley, they promised me something. They said once Ashley was old enough for school, I could go back. I waited five years and decided I was going to ask the day after Ashley’s birthday.

“Exactly what you heard,” Paul said. “Your admission was terminated right after my wife died.”

“You think we don’t know about your little scam?” he said. “Stealing your cousin’s scholarship? Taking her place at Stark? Pretending to be someone you are not? I still don’t understand why Stella protected you. Why didn't she let you face the disciplinary panel as you deserved.”

His hate for me has always been clear, he blames me for everything. For Stella dying, for Lyon being unhappy. For the sky being blue, all of it is my fault to him.

“Our university is prestigious,” Kate said. She finally put her phone down. “We can’t have criminals graduating. Even if you married into the family. If you want to go to school so badly, find a school for your kind, a school for crooks and liars like you.”

They are monsters, all of them. Every single person in this family except Stella. Why did she have to die? Why did she leave me here alone in this mess she made? She’s the one who begged me to marry Lyon.

“You waited five years to tell me this?” I asked. My voice got louder. I couldn’t help it. “After I gave everything? Why didn’t you tell me five years ago when you terminated it?” I yelled. “Why now?”

Paul stood up so fast, he crossed the room in two steps and slapped me hard across the face. My head snapped to the side. “Don’t you dare raise your voice at my mother,” he snarled. “You filthy gold digger.”

“All we did was beat you at your own game,” he said. His voice was low. “You scammed your way in here. You tricked my wife into thinking you were some angel. All you ever wanted was our money and our name. So we played the same game you played. And we won.”

I was still holding my cheek. It was hot and stinging from Paul’s slap. That’s when I heard footsteps.

Lyon walked into the living room. Jessica was beside him, holding Ashley’s hand. Ashley was smiling up at Jessica like she was the only person in the world.

Lyon stopped when he saw me. His eyes went to my face, then to Paul’s hand, then to Kate. “What’s going on?” he asked. His voice was sharp.

Kate smiled. The same cold smile she always used for me. “Vivian asked to go back to school,” she said. She made it sound like a joke. “I told her admission has been terminated and she is making a fuss.”

Lyon’s eyebrows pulled together, he looked surprised. “Since when?” he asked.

“Right after Stella's death," Kate said. She said it like it was obvious. “Because she’s a crook, she stole her cousin’s scholarship to get into Stark. We can’t have that kind of person in our university.”

Lyon looked at me, for a second, and I thought I saw something in his eyes. Confusion, maybe even guilt but it was gone fast. He looked away.

Ashley let go of Jessica’s hand and looked up at me. Her little face was scrunched up, like she was trying to solve a puzzle.

“Miss Vivian,” she said. Her voice was small. “Are you suddenly asking to go back to school because you feel my mommy is back and you want to step up too?” She tilted her head. “Aren’t you too old to go back to school?”

Lyon crouched down a little so he was closer to Ashley’s level. His voice was gentle. “Nobody is too old to go back to school, sweetheart,” he said. “People learn at all ages.”

Jessica stepped forward fast. She put a hand on Ashley’s shoulder. “Lyon, don’t,” she said. She looked at me, and her smile wasn’t sweet. “Vivian is only trying to go back to school to see if she can win your love and Ashley’s love.” She turned back to Lyon. “When has she brought school up before? Not once in five years. Not until today. Today, when Ashley has been told the truth about her real mom.”

Kate laughed. It was short and cold. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. She waved her hand like she was waving me away. “The admission has been terminated. Her name has been blacklisted. There’s no way she can get into Stark University again. Not now, not ever.”

I looked at all of them. Paul with his hate. Kate with her smile. Jessica has her hand on my daughter’s shoulder. Lyon with his eyes that wouldn’t meet mine.

“After everything I have done for you,” I said. My voice broke. Tears ran down my face and I didn’t wipe them. “When didn’t you just tell me earlier, what did I ever do to deserve this?”

I wasn’t yelling anymore, I was just tired and drained.

Ashley tugged on Lyon’s sleeve. She looked up at him with big eyes. “Daddy,” she asked. “When are you going to send Miss Vivian away and marry Mummy?”

Lyon froze, his whole body went still. Jessica squeezed Ashley’s shoulder and looked at me like she’d already won.

Lyon looked into my eye, he didn’t look away this time. “Today,” he said. His voice was flat.

He took a breath. “Look, you and I know I have never liked you, and will never do. I love Jessica and that’s who I want to be with. I can never see past the fact that you caused my mother’s death and manipulated her to marry me.” He paused. “It’s about time we let you go.”

I couldn’t get air. My chest was too tight. “You are going to discard me just like that?” I asked. My voice was breathless. Barely a sound.

Lyon’s face didn’t change. “You aren’t needed anymore,” he said. “Jessica is here to take care of Ashley. There is no use for you anymore.”

There is no use for me, they waited for Jessica to return so they could toss me away

Ashley was still holding Jessica’s hand. She didn’t say anything. She just watched me with big eyes. Waiting to see what I would do.

I looked at Lyon and nodded. “Okay,” I said. The word tasted like blood. “I will sign the divorce papers.”

I was tired of trying so hard to fit in, Lyon is never going to love me and Ashley has her mom now, what’s the point of lingering?

Kate clapped her hands once. Like this was the best news. “Thank goodness she didn’t throw tantrums this time,” she said. She smiled at me, wide and fake. “Once you sign it, you have until the next morning to leave the house. And you leave with nothing. You understand? Nothing.”

Paul nodded. “It’s more than you deserve,” he said.